"He was a darkfriend?" Mave asked incredulously. The sun was already rising, shafting light across the face of the mountains. Ali had turned them off the road a couple of miles out of Hollowbrook, as soon as the road curling around the lake took them out of sight of the village. The horse picked its way up one of the small streams which fed the lake. It was unlikely that there would be any pursuit Darius, like the rest of them, was an outsider, but it didn't pay to take chances.

"He said that people in his circles knew me. Knew my eyes," Ali admitted. Mave felt a shiver run through her. All along she had assumed that the shadow was chasing her, but what if they weren't? What if they were chasing Ali and she had just been in the way. It also raised the question of why. His eyes were strange yes, but the world was filled with the strange.

"I should..." Mave began and then paused. What she should do was take him to Tar Valon, place him under the protection of the White Tower. She was certain she could arrange it. Ali would be placed under protection, kept safe. But in all likelyhood she would never be allowed to see him again. Also there was the Black Ajah to consider, could she really trust the White Tower.

"We need to get out of here," she corrected. If Darius had reported where they were it wasn't safe, but this might be the only chance she had to recover whatever was hidden in the mountains.